<p>The State Health and Family Welfare department recently procured 200 ambulance vehicles for their “Nagu Magu” scheme. They are now in Jaipur, Rajasthan for “designing and equipping them with medical facilities.”</p>.<p>The State government’s “Nagu Magu” scheme was launched this year for BPL families and is aimed to ensure the safe return of the mother and baby to their house after delivery. <br /><br />The new ambulances procured exclusively for the scheme are sent to Kamal Coach Works Pvt Ltd (KCWPL) all the way in Jaipur for fabrication work at a cost of Rs 8.82 crore.<br /><br />The vehicles left for Jaipur earlier this month, said sources in the department. <br /><br />“Each taluk will have one vehicle exclusively for this purpose. The project aims to drop the mother and baby to their house within a radius of 40-45 km,” sources said.<br /><br />Dr H C Ramesh, project director, Reproductive Child Health (RCH) said that they had called for tenders and a company from Rajasthan bagged the work.<br /><br />“Apart from changing the interiors of the ambulance with posters and stickers, they will be provided with 17 medical equipments like defibrillators, nebulisers,” he added.<br /><br />When asked why the tender was awarded to a company from Rajasthan, where the ambulances will have to be driven to and fro for more than 3,000 km for fabrication, he said that the company had the expertise and that they had quoted the best price including transportation with diesel, driver’s charges and toll fee in the tender. <br /><br />“We had invited online tenders. Only three companies participated in the tender, all outsiders including one from Pune and another from Mumbai. <br /><br />One company did not furnish the required documents and another did not turn up for the presentation and the company which bagged the tender was from Rajasthan,” said an official from Karnataka State Drug Logistics and Warehousing Society, on condition of anonymity.<br /><br />He added that no local fabricators participated in the tender. <br /><br />The officials said that the vehicles will be specially designed and fabricated to drop mother and newborns.<br /><br />“We even inquired with the company whether it can fabricate the vehicle here by setting up a unit here, but we were told that they can’t do it and even if they do it, they cannot assure the same quality of work as done in Jaipur,” the official added.<br /><br />The company KCWPL, which bagged the tender is working with the State government for the first time. Punit Gupta, Chief Operating Officer, KCWPL told Deccan Herald that since their factory units are in Rajasthan, they have to take all the vehicles there.<br /><br />“The cost in the tender included the transportation cost too. We include this cost too while quoting the tenders. These ambulances are even equipped with baby warmers (incubators),” he added.<br /><br />Though the government plans to appoint drivers exclusively for these ambulances, existing drivers from the health department have been sent along with the vehicles to Jaipur at present.<br /><br />However, Health and Family Welfare Minister U T Khader said that the cost of the transportation including that of the drivers was borne by the company. <br /><br />“The 'Nagu Magu' scheme will be launched shortly. <br /><br />The ambulance vehicles are expected to return by next week,” he added.<br /></p>
<p>The State Health and Family Welfare department recently procured 200 ambulance vehicles for their “Nagu Magu” scheme. They are now in Jaipur, Rajasthan for “designing and equipping them with medical facilities.”</p>.<p>The State government’s “Nagu Magu” scheme was launched this year for BPL families and is aimed to ensure the safe return of the mother and baby to their house after delivery. <br /><br />The new ambulances procured exclusively for the scheme are sent to Kamal Coach Works Pvt Ltd (KCWPL) all the way in Jaipur for fabrication work at a cost of Rs 8.82 crore.<br /><br />The vehicles left for Jaipur earlier this month, said sources in the department. <br /><br />“Each taluk will have one vehicle exclusively for this purpose. The project aims to drop the mother and baby to their house within a radius of 40-45 km,” sources said.<br /><br />Dr H C Ramesh, project director, Reproductive Child Health (RCH) said that they had called for tenders and a company from Rajasthan bagged the work.<br /><br />“Apart from changing the interiors of the ambulance with posters and stickers, they will be provided with 17 medical equipments like defibrillators, nebulisers,” he added.<br /><br />When asked why the tender was awarded to a company from Rajasthan, where the ambulances will have to be driven to and fro for more than 3,000 km for fabrication, he said that the company had the expertise and that they had quoted the best price including transportation with diesel, driver’s charges and toll fee in the tender. <br /><br />“We had invited online tenders. Only three companies participated in the tender, all outsiders including one from Pune and another from Mumbai. <br /><br />One company did not furnish the required documents and another did not turn up for the presentation and the company which bagged the tender was from Rajasthan,” said an official from Karnataka State Drug Logistics and Warehousing Society, on condition of anonymity.<br /><br />He added that no local fabricators participated in the tender. <br /><br />The officials said that the vehicles will be specially designed and fabricated to drop mother and newborns.<br /><br />“We even inquired with the company whether it can fabricate the vehicle here by setting up a unit here, but we were told that they can’t do it and even if they do it, they cannot assure the same quality of work as done in Jaipur,” the official added.<br /><br />The company KCWPL, which bagged the tender is working with the State government for the first time. Punit Gupta, Chief Operating Officer, KCWPL told Deccan Herald that since their factory units are in Rajasthan, they have to take all the vehicles there.<br /><br />“The cost in the tender included the transportation cost too. We include this cost too while quoting the tenders. These ambulances are even equipped with baby warmers (incubators),” he added.<br /><br />Though the government plans to appoint drivers exclusively for these ambulances, existing drivers from the health department have been sent along with the vehicles to Jaipur at present.<br /><br />However, Health and Family Welfare Minister U T Khader said that the cost of the transportation including that of the drivers was borne by the company. <br /><br />“The 'Nagu Magu' scheme will be launched shortly. <br /><br />The ambulance vehicles are expected to return by next week,” he added.<br /></p>
